


Love Without Words

by Hawkefeathers



Series: Moments In Time [2]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, Past Romance, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-30
Updated: 2016-08-30
Packaged: 2018-08-11 22:28:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7909960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hawkefeathers/pseuds/Hawkefeathers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s been seven years since he put Overwatch behind him. Seven years since he lost his faith in Blackwatch. Seven years of being on the run, constantly hounded by the law and bounty hunters alike.</p><p>It’s also been seven years since he last saw Genji Shimada.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love Without Words

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for Crowbi on Tumblr. They make such amazing art for the fandom and I wanted to give them something in return <3

When McCree first returns to Gibraltar, he’s nervous.

It’s been seven years since he put Overwatch behind him. Seven years since he lost his faith in Blackwatch. Seven years of being on the run, constantly hounded by the law and bounty hunters alike.

It’s also been seven years since he last saw Genji Shimada.

To be fair, he hasn’t seen the others since then, either. He’s been looking forward to catching up with them. They’ll swap stories and he’ll weave impressive tales about his exploits of the last seven years. But no matter how much Jesse cares for them, he doesn’t feel the same way about them as he does about Genji. Genji was different.

Genji was _special_.

Jesse has never spent long nights talking about the stars with Winston, or swapping stories of his messed-up childhood with Reinhardt. He’s never sought out Lena in the dead of night after a mission gone wrong. He’s never kissed Angela out of the blue after a joint op almost got him killed.

But Jesse has done all of these things and more with Genji.

Jesse thinks of the first time he met the cyborg. It was roughly a year after Genji’s elder brother tried to kill him. Genji was still testing the limits of his new body, frustrated that many of the other Overwatch agents treated him as if he were as fragile as glass. McCree, not being the sort to coddle or take things easy, quickly offered to be his training partner when they had spare time between missions.

Their first sparring match ended when Genji knocked out two of Jesse’s teeth.

After a bout of profuse apologies from Genji, and amused forgiveness from McCree, they fell into an easy pattern of joining each other for practice between missions. It wasn’t long before they started sharing stories; McCree told tales of the Deadlock gang and the struggles of growing up as a poor mixed kid with no parents, and Genji told him of the pressure of being raised in a Yakuza family and how he’d constantly tested his limits until his own brother had turned on him. Jesse comforted Genji when his disgust at his new body became too much, and Genji held him as he struggled not to fall apart with the memories of things he’d done to survive as a kid.

Then a mission went tits-up and Jesse took a bullet to the gut. Genji swooped in and saved him, his usual grace gone in the midst of his fury. When Genji had frantically held onto him as he radioed for help, Jesse just smiled and placed a sloppy kiss to the cyborg’s visor before blacking out. When he woke up in the medical wing a few days later, Genji chewed him out in an angry mix of English and Japanese before lifting his visor and soundly kissing McCree like he was afraid he’d never get another chance.

Turns out there were many more chances after that. Long talks and gentle touches and moments where they were just content to _exist_. They quickly found themselves spending every free moment together when their schedules allowed.

Until Genji left, his mission with Overwatch finished. His farewell to Jesse was short and clipped, bereft of the warmth they’d once shared.

Then came the disastrous mission that cost Jesse his arm and had him abandoning his post as well. The explosion of the Swiss HQ came not long after, bringing with it the deaths of Jack Morrison and Gabriel Reyes and the disbanding of Overwatch.

And now here he stands.

Jesse doesn’t recall the Gibraltar base looking so daunting. This place once felt like home, even if he spent his time at various other bases during his time with Blackwatch. It looks much the same as it did the last time he was here, maybe with a bit more dust and signs of wear. But if he’s honest with himself it isn’t the base that’s making him uneasy.

The doors open and a lone figure stands on the other side. The colors are a bit different and the orange jumpsuit is gone, but Jesse recognizes the sleek visor and the black cloth snapping in the wind. The man that was at the center of his thoughts for the past seven years is standing before him.

Jesse has the impression that Genji is sizing him up, cataloging how much he’s changed since they were last together. He wishes he could do the same, but aside from the cosmetic changes of Genji’s armor he has nothing to go on. Genji is perfectly still except for the slight tilt of his head as he scans McCree from head to toe. Jesse feels naked despite the layers of armor and the serape draped across his shoulders. Genji was always able to see right through him.

Suddenly Genji moves and Jesse has no time to react before he’s knocked to the dirt. He lands spread-eagled and stares wide-eyed at Genji who is sitting in his lap, pretty as you please. Jesse lifts his hands to rest tentatively against solid metal thighs and waits. He doesn’t know what the cyborg wants.

After all this time, he’s not sure where they stand with one another.

There’s a soft hiss as Genji removes his visor and McCree is left breathless as he stares. Genji’s brown eyes are warmer than he’s ever seen them, and he can make out the way the corners of his eyes crinkle in amusement.

And good God almighty, that _smile_. Genji’s smile is almost blinding in its brilliance and it’s aimed right at him. He must look absolutely gobsmacked because Genji laughs, the faint mechanical echo in his voice doing nothing to diminish his mirth.

And then Genji leans forward and kisses him and it feels like coming home.

After that McCree’s nervousness melts away. When they finally pull themselves off the floor and head inside, he’s met by the other members that have answered the call. Reinhardt is as boisterous as ever, Angela is delighted to see him, and Winston and Lena are all smiles and chatter. There are new faces too, with names he’s sure he’ll need to be reminded of in the future. The one newcomer that really stands out is the Omnic monk. Genji introduces him as Tekhartha Zenyatta, and his tone is fond. Genji tells Jesse that it was Zenyatta that helped him come to terms with his new body.

Jesse wants to kiss the monk for that, though he knows it wouldn’t be proper.

The pair eventually slip away and find a quiet spot on the cliffs to sit and talk. Jesse tells Genji about his disastrous final mission and the loss of his arm. In return, Genji tells him about being overcome by his own self-hatred until Zenyatta gently coaxed him into confronting his tangled emotions and accepting them. Jesse opens up about how he mourned for Reyes and Morrison despite his lingering resentment for them, and Genji recounts the tale of his reunion with his brother.

They talk for hours as the warm glow of the afternoon gives way to the burnt orange of sunset, until the day gives way to night and they are surrounded by stars. Eventually they fall quiet, content with the chance to share each other’s space after so long apart.  

Jesse shifts, linking the fingers of his left hand with Genji’s right, metal on metal. The weight of Genji’s head settles against his shoulder with a soft contented sigh.

Genji’s words are soft, but his tone is the happiest McCree has ever heard. “ _Aishiteru yo_.”

Jesse’s Japanese is rusty but he knows what it means.

He thinks back to the words he was too cowardly to say, and smiles. When Jesse speaks, the words come freely.

“I love you too.”


End file.
